Katrina — the good: Federal aid to Alabama for Hurricane Katrina has totaled nearly half a billion dollars. More than three-fifths went for emergency response. To date, 113,000 state residents have registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for help.
• Katrina aid to Alabama totals $466 million [Associated Press]

Katrina — the bad: It’s been so dry in Alabama (“how dry is it?”) that 33 counties were placed on fire alert. Huntsville is 16 inches below normal in rainfall for the year. So for the first time in two months, actual rain. And tornadoes. And severe cold. And about 1,200 Katrina evacuees still living in trailers (and even tents!) at state park campgrounds. Worst. Punchline. Ever.
• Katrina evacuees in Alabama worried by prospect of severe weather [Associated Press]

Katrina — the ugly: “A Hurricane Katrina evacuee is under arrest, accused of the murder of a Birmingham man. Arner Dinwiddie, 62, is charged with capital murder in the death of 42-year-old Paul Maurice Anthony. This is the city’s 86th homicide of the year.” Curiously enough, the Demopolis Times adds this report: “Nov. 4: Arner Dinwiddie, 52, of Birmingham was released on $1,000 bond for driving under the influence.”

• Hurricane Evacuee Charged With Shooting Death of Birmingham Man [NBC 13]

Also:

• English Village candle store burns down over four days; smells like pumpkin, lemongrass
• Helena man picks nose, friends, declines to pick friend’s nose
• Homecoming events to include boozy cheers, awkward conversations, spirit

• • •

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The semi-blank grid
demands digital input.
Five. No, eight! Or six?

A question of death: The Birmingham News treated readers last week to a six-day editorial series on the death penalty. Yawn.

That’s not to say it wasn’t thoroughly researched and included the obligatory pro-execution column. But after decades of supporting the ultimate punishment in a state where no one has ever been hung from a tree for being the wrong color, let’s just say they’re a little late to the party.

One recurring theme is the editorial board’s embrace of a “culture of life,” a politically charged phrase right up there with “family values” and “axis of evil.”

What we have done is look at capital punishment in the context of some of our strongly held views on other life-and-death issues. In the course of that inquiry, we found it increasingly hard to reconcile our traditional support for the death penalty with our reverence of life, as expressed in our consistent opposition to abortion on demand, embryonic stem-cell research and euthanasia.

Points for consistency, demerits for being unable to support differing, even contradictory, viewpoints on the complexities of modern society.

We applaud the News’ grand awakening — the justice system is broken, blacks and whites are treated differently, state-supported murder is still murder, socio-economic status matters — even if it falls short of its 1991 Pulitzer Prize-winning effort on the state’s tax system.

But we see little to inspire the same such awakening in the hard-headed hard-hearted citizens of Alabama, the vast majority of which will never open their eyes to the poor, the mistreated, the wrongly imprisoned. Never confuse them with the facts.

Richard Jaffe, a Birmingham criminal defense lawyer, spells it out succinctly:

“It’s better to be rich and guilty than innocent and poor.”

• Choosing Life in a Death Penalty State [Birmingham News]

Also:

• Category 4 Iron Bowl scheduled to hit Auburn on Saturday
• White-trash debutantes’ ball features Christmas lights, Skynyrd tribute
• Milo’s owner: Teens ‘up to no good’ in parking lot

• • •

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Originally published January 1996.

1. Decorating guru by day, stripper by night (paint stripper, natch).
2. Motto: “If you don’t look good, you don’t look good.”
3. Can pit olives using only her telekinetic powers.
4. What instrument does she play? All of them!
5. Middle name? Fussbudget.
6. She renovates more before 9 a.m. than most people do in a lifetime.
7. If life were a hockey game, she’d be the zamboni guy and wouldn’t need the zamboni.
8. The ugly truth: She’s a housewarmin’ junkie.
9. The weather bureau would name hurricanes after her if they only went a little faster.
10. Likes spackling, hates grouting.

(more…)

What to cook this week?
So much at supermarket …
Takeout wins. Again.

Darker days ahead.
Your smile, a beacon to trust
as it leads us home.

We see the neighbors
everywhere we go in town.
Can’t they stay at home?

Get your Creek on: In honor of tonight’s Nickel Creek concert at the Alabama, a roundup of interviews. Trust us, this group is great on CD and powerful onstage. Don’t like bluegrass? Think again. Show starts at 8 p.m., with opening act Martin Sexton.
Interviews: Birmingham Weekly | Birmingham News
• Interview with Chris Thile (streaming audio) [WBHM]

It puts the Whopper in the basket: OK, we’re a little miffed that no one called us to let us know hoopsmaster-turned-theater mogul Earvin “Magic” Johnson was in town yesterday hustling orders at the BK. No kidding. “Johnson hopes his visit inspires other local young entrepreneurs.” Um, hate to break it to you, but all the hip entrepreneurs are chowing down at Sushi Hut …
• Burger King Patrons Get Magic Treatment [NBC 13]

And if you prefer your scandals in book form …: The first book about the HealthSouth scandal is hitting stores Dec. 1. "Going South: An Inside Look at Corruption and Greed, and the Power of the HealthSouth Message Board" takes us back to a simpler time, 1997, when all you needed was a modem and a dream. The perfect stocking stuffer for the mustachioed monetary miscreant on your list!
• Local doctor details fall of HealthSouth empire [(Ft. Wayne, Ind.) Journal Gazette]

Also:

• Bread/milk storm rumor causes snow shortages at area supermarkets
• Are you lickable? Take our super-hot sex quiz
• Gardendale residents suspect gambling, pancakes at corner church

• • •

Send us your news tips.

It’ll be 70 degrees and sunny this afternoon, perfect for a parade.

For nearly 60 years, Birmingham has been home to the oldest and biggest Veterans Day observance. One tradition is the downtown parade, and I’ve seen it a few times. Always worth the trip.

(more…)

Heated metal slab pushes
   wrinkles from the cotton sea.
Will iron for food.

The newly hired executive director of the newly established Birmingham-Jefferson Film Office spoke Monday night at the Sidewalk Salon. Mark Stricklin was candid about his role, the film community and the future.

At stake are the millions of dollars movie and TV productions can shovel into a city economy. But the competition is fierce, with several hundred city and regional film commissions vying for Hollywood’s attention.

(more…)

Serial vampire novelist Anne Rice is in town today to promote another book about another walking undead freak: Jesus.

She’s signing books, including her latest, "Christ the Lord: Out of Egypt," at the Alabama Booksmith in Homewood at 6 tonight. “Christ the Lord” is Rice’s portrait of the savior as a young man.

But it’s her other promotional stop that has us intrigued.

(more…)

Power play: Alabama Power wants a 10.6 percent rate hike, the first such hike in nearly 25 years. But opponents want a 7 percent hike. What’s the old joke about the death row inmate choosing between AC or DC …?
• Opponents to Alabama Power rate increase urge alternatives [Associated Press]

Energy alternatives … ha!: The good news? You can still switch to natural gas. The bad news? Alabamians pay more than 40 percent above the regional average. Time to install that wind-powered breadmaker …
• Alabama customers pay much more for natural gas [Mobile Register]

If it meows or moos, shoot it: Hey, jerk: If you’ve got nothing better to do than wander around Shelby County using defenseless housepets/livestock as archery targets, maybe you should try something really rad, like self-mutilation, or lying down on 280. Bye jerk, die jerk. Hugs and kisses, Humanity.
• Another Animal Found Shot With An Arrow [NBC 13]

Poaching our freedom: Hey other jerk, Why do you hate our freedom? My motto: “Save an eagle; shoot a turkey.” Or was that, “ride a cowboy”?
• Three bald eagles shot over weekend in north Alabama [Associated Press]

Another Eagle in the crosshairs: Once upon a time, there was an NFL player from Alexander City named Terrell Owens, or T.O. He had a very big mouth, and that very big mouth got him into trouble. And onto “Sportscenter.” And into the nightclub business as part-owner of Lakeview’s Amani Raha. One day, he opened his mouth so wide, it swallowed up the last four games of his season with the Philadelphia Eagles. And he was never heard from again, until the Pro Bowl, training camps, preseason, “Outside the Lines” … The end.
• Eagles Trying to Stay Airborne [Washington Post]

Also:

• Governor asks to boycott travel to moon
• Sheriff vows to enforce little-known law on “prurient breastfeeding”
• Veterans welcomed with strip searches, criminal background checks

Send us your news tips.

Flaming vehicle
lights up commute to office.
Stop rubbernecking.

November summer
Eighty-degree days afoot
A/C so breezy.